Loader OK to leave my loader up?

[Ed of all trades]

Ever been working in the field and get off of one tractor and be working on another for a while and hear a dog start yiping scared to death only to see that it fell asleep under a piece of 3ph equipment and it leaked down on it and trapped it? Dad ran and started the tractor and lifted it off of the dog and the dog was fine, but. If we had gone to lunch or to get parts, dead dog. I will never forget that as long as I live. All that to say leave it down.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you have a limited length for parking and it will be stored for a while, just drop the bucket off and leave it outside. With the QA FEL, It Just takes a couple minutes to take off and put back on.

 

[mangus580]

If you have a limited length for parking and it will be stored for a while, just drop the bucket off and leave it outside. With the QA FEL, It Just takes a couple minutes to take off and put back on.

I think to your point above, curling the bucket under will give the same effect, thats how I get mine to fit. (see attached)

 

[TomSeller]

I got into the habit a long time ago of setting the bucket down every time I got off the tractor when all I had was a tractor without brakes. Now that I have brakes I still set the bucket down.

 

[mjncad]

I drop them. Never know when the kids might go out in the barn and one of them climbs on the tractor and one of the is under the FEL. The one on the tractor grabs levers and you can guess the rest. Lower your implements. Safety first.

I don't have kids; but I need to raise the 4200's bucket up high so I can drive the L130 in and out. When the bucket is up high, I engage the loader lever lock that Deere provides. It won't prevent a slow leak-down, or a rapid drop due to pressure loss; but it will prevent the loader lever from being moved. Once the L130 is in or out, I drop the bucket and depressurize (de-energize) the system.

 

[MasseyWV]

Personally, I would leave the loader down... for safety's sake. :2cents:

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think to your point above, curling the bucket under will give the same effect, thats how I get mine to fit. (see attached)

View attachment 302826

I had suggested that earlier, which is what I do with mine, but he could save another 12-18" by removing it completely.

 

[TSO]

Again, point taken fellas... :thumbsup:

I'm the only one that has access to them in the barn (kids are too small and the wife doesn't really go in there unsupervised) so safety wasn't really the focus of my question... I was asking more for the short-term effects (any damage) that could occur from parking them that way. I typically have them down all the time (and I always take the pressure off the system by jiggling the joystick after I turn off the system) but was doing a couple projects where I needed the walking room in the barn, so they were only kept "up" for a couple days.

Thanks again for all the responses though!

 

[Gary Fowler]

Safety aside, there is no reason to expect damage from leaving it up, unless of course it leaks down and damages part of your shed. ON subject but slightly getting off is the story of my fuel tank leaking.
When my fuel tank cracked and I thought I may have to get it hauled to the dealer, I left the FEL up for 4 weeks. It did leak down about half way in that period. No one here but me and the wife and she doesn't go near the tractors. I left it up so if we needed to load it on a trailer we could without cranking it since the tank was leaking dry. Finally after 4 weeks, I took the tank off and put JB Weld on the cracked out bolt area which stopped the leaks. About 2 weeks later my new tank came in. This was almost 2 years ago and the old tank is still installed and new one is in my shop taking up space waiting for the old one to start leaking. The hydraulic valves on the LS are amazingly leak proof. I have left the 3PH up for 3 months at a time with a heavy disk on and absolutely no leak down. And as stated above the FEL lowered very slowly. The valves on my Kubota backhoe all leak down even overnight I can see movement of the bucket, boom and dipper, even the stabilizers leak when in full up. But I am getting off topic again.

 

[DonnieP]

For a safety stop all you need is a couple of pieces of angle iron cut to the correct length and ty-raps to hold them in place. We put two angle iron edge to edge on each piston, hard to explain, cross section would look like this: <O> You could probably use velcro instead of ty-raps so you don't have the hassle of cutting them each time.

 

[zzvyb6]

As your equipment ages, the likelyhood of the loader staying up without movement gets pretty low. See your doctor if your loader remains erected for more than 4 hours....

 

[creekbend]

I agree with many others regarding leaving the FEL down. I leave my down at all times. I don't leave the keys in the ignition either, just in case one of our Grandchildren come over to visit.

 

[puckgrinder85]

I don't have kids; but I need to raise the 4200's bucket up high so I can drive the L130 in and out. When the bucket is up high, I engage the loader lever lock that Deere provides. It won't prevent a slow leak-down, or a rapid drop due to pressure loss; but it will prevent the loader lever from being moved. Once the L130 is in or out, I drop the bucket and depressurize (de-energize) the system.

You drive under a raised bucket? No way in ****... The only way I work on hydraulics over my head is with some sort of mechanical safety device. Jack stand, prop rods etc.


I dump pressure in my loader as well with it on the ground when it gets parked or left any significant amount of time.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

As long as you have a safety brace should not be a problem , can't tell from your pictures . Lift the loader set the brace and set the loader on it . And those rods are not going to rust . We park machinery exposed and have had no problems . Those rods have a microscopic film of oil on them ,I have yet to see any rust .

2x in your case to gain so much more usable floor space in your shop.

The cylinder lock option looks useful but you do not need to spend $1000. I would just get me a 4x4 and cut it just a little shorter than where the rod comes out of the cylinder end and notch it slightly do it does not slip and lower the bucket until each cylinder outer housing lightly equally tags each 4x4 that you just rested against the cylinder rod.

As stated the is no chance of rust plus with the bucket at nearly full height there is much less gravity involved.

We just drop the bucket but we are parked outside in the open where space is not limited. I do like to block ours up when it is in the way of servicing.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

For a safety stop all you need is a couple of pieces of angle iron cut to the correct length and ty-raps to hold them in place. We put two angle iron edge to edge on each piston, hard to explain, cross section would look like this: <O> You could probably use velcro instead of ty-raps so you don't have the hassle of cutting them each time.

I like this one too but material and cutting wise the 4x4 would just be more doable in my case and offer no delay in a rushed exit from the shop because you could just start driving/towing and dropping the bucket.

 

[mjncad]

You drive under a raised bucket? No way in ****...

It's not my preferred method of getting the L130 in and out of its parking space; but I'm only slightly under there for a few seconds, and I completely understand the calculated risk, and accept responsibility for my actions.

 

[TomSeller]

Just don't anyone fasten hooks from their rafters as a redneck safety to make sure the FEL doesn't drop. You can bet you will forget one day and start to back out and take half your structure with you. Oopps.

 

[wolftree]

I even had my dog trained to not come close to the tractor until she heard the bucket come down.

 

[RickB]

I use a piece of angle steel as a boom cylinder lock and leave my loader securely propped up all the time in my shed. I lower the cylinder against the lock so tiewraps, velcro, etc are unnecessary. One prop is sufficient, if two makes somebody feel better, so be it. If this method satisfies OSHA as being acceptable for use in repair shops, (and it is) I'm OK with it, and this community should be as well.

 

[71bronco]

You drive under a raised bucket? No way in ****... The only way I work on hydraulics over my head is with some sort of mechanical safety device. Jack stand, prop rods etc.


I dump pressure in my loader as well with it on the ground when it gets parked or left any significant amount of time.

I probably shouldn't tell you about crawling under the brush hog to unwind fence wire ( would have had to drive all the way back to the barn to prop it) or lifting the loader part way up to grease it. I think this falls under the heading of "Acceptable Risk". Next thing you'll tell me is I shouldn't crawl under my tractor without propping the back tires up in case they blowout causing me to be trapped underneath it . Life has risks.

Jeff